Category Archives: Uncategorized

Many business owners think that EVERYONE is their customer, so they create a coupon, find a monthly delivery system (a coupon magazine or coupon mailer) and hope for the best. But, understanding your target customer can give you insights into how to price, how to promote, how to utilize media and what special offers will appeal to them.

If you are not in business yet, look at the neighborhoods where you are thinking of locating your business. What is the average age and income of the people in the immediate one mile radius? Check out the three mile radius also. If you have a retail business, the majority of your customers will be local to those areas.

If your answer is Generation X, have you made them the target of your marketing dollars? Do you know how to make your message resonate with them?

What do you get when you mix consumer perceptions of a brand’s quality, value, satisfaction, and reputation, along with impressions of the brand and propensity to recommend it? Overall brand health, per YouGov’s BrandIndex, which has released a list of the brands that top the charts as rated by adults in the US.

YouGov’s BrandIndex score is derived by taking the average of the above-referenced components and ranking the highest brands from 1630 tracked for at least 6 months during a year-long period from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018.

Millennials have been the target of more scrutiny than any other generation. Why? Because as a generation, they are larger than the Baby Boomer generation that clocked in at 77 million. Baby Boomers were a significant force in terms of purchasing power, political direction and now retirement as they have moved through their lives. Millennials, sometimes called Echo Boomers, are expected to have an equal or greater influence on society.

Representing 25% of the population, and 80 million strong, Millennials are generally agreed to have been born between 1980 – 2000. You will also hear them referred to as Generation Y. The youngest Millennials are 18 years of age while the oldest will be 38 in 2018.

Scientists believe they’ve solved the mystery of the Bermuda Triange―and it’s not UFOs or sea monsters.

It’s another kind of monster: monster waves.

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, is a region in the North Atlantic that is generally bounded by Miami, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. Over time, a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared there under mysterious circumstances.

We all know what passes for gospel in our brand-driven, always-on culture: “Network your way to the top.” “Just say yes.” “Get out there!”

But what if you stopped all that networking? What if you distilled your business development to the bare minimum and still managed to grow your company? What if — instead of getting out there — you could simply stay in?

I’m much more comfortable in my home office than I am selling to a room, yet I own a successful business for which I am the primary sales driver. My business requires me to network, schmooze and take lots of meetings. It means I regularly fly thousands of miles on my own dime to meet a potential client or give a talk. And it means I must keep a robust social media presence even as sharing makes me incredibly self-conscious.

It’s enough to make me want to hide in the bathroom.

Over the years, I’ve developed a formula that allows me to play to my strengths and nourish my introversion — to focus less on the outcome of “success” and more on the everyday. I never will be relaxed on flights or stop getting anxiety attacks before a meeting. But I’ve grown a business that can sustain the real me. I call myself a “hermit entrepreneur.”

Federal air marshals have for years been quietly monitoring small numbers of U.S. air passengers and reporting on in-flight behavior considered suspicious, even if those individuals have no known terrorism links, the Transportation Security Administration said on Sunday.

Under a sensitive, previously undisclosed program called “Quiet Skies,” the TSA has since 2010 tasked marshals with identifying passengers who raise flags because of travel histories or other factors and conduct secret observations of their actions — including behavior as common as sweating heavily or using the restroom repeatedly — as they fly between U.S. destinations.

I was horsing around with my dog the other day — I promise this is an article on entrepreneurship — when something extraordinary happened.

We’d been playing tug-of-war with her red doggie blanket when, after 10 minutes of tugging, I finally managed to wrench the festering rag from her clenched, bulldog jowls. I flashed the blanket about like a torero, bowed, then I flipped it behind me and hid it on the small of my back.

Sugar searched frantically for a minute while I sniggered and snarked. Finally, my inner villain satisfied, I dropped her prize in plain view at my feet. Here’s where it gets weird.

Industry news is vital for keeping in touch with changes and upcoming trends. What is the best way to stay on top of industry news? Why does it work?

1. Competitors

Most people shy away from having a relationship with their competitors for fear of revealing strategy or even awkwardness. But having an open relationship with them can be one of the best ways to know how other operators are thinking about your industry. Be a yardstick for how you are doing and gut-check your own operation. –Fan Bi, Menswear Reviewed

Scenario: You’re a startup office. People in hoodies and graphic tees are throwing the term “AI” around like confetti. You nod and try to play along, managing to churn out a brief mention of Elon Musk and Tesla as you look up the definition of “artificial intelligence” on your phone. You try to translate it into plain English. No luck. Relatable?

Never fear: Our trusty guide is here, no prior knowledge required. Let’s talk about what it is — in layman’s terms — and how it could affect your life.

What AI is

AI is the advancement of computer systems to perform tasks usually limited to humans. Translation: Some things you used to have to do yourself — or call someone about, or visit a physical location for help with — can now be done by a computer.

Do words like “general relativity,” “gravity well” and “spacetime continuum” sound intimidating? Don’t worry, you don’t have to be Albert Einstein to understand them! Try this fun activity to learn about these concepts and black holes—using some common household materials.